Methods and Devices for Reel-Type Wagering with Bonus Games

ABSTRACT

One or more client machines may engage in the play of reel-type games with a gaming server, where each gaming session may include one or more spins of a reel in the reel-type game. Certain outcomes of these spins may include a bonus token, or some other type of indication that bonus credits have been awarded. Once a given client machine has accumulated a sufficient number of bonus tokens, the client machine may have the option to engage in a bonus game.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates generally to the field of wager games and moreparticularly to methods and apparatuses for initiating bonus gamesduring play of a reel-type wager game. The methods are applicable in avariety of game playing formats, for example physical slot machines,electronic video gaming terminals, and computer workstations playingwager games over a computer network.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect, a client machine configured to play a reel-type wagergame featuring a bonus game is described. The client machine can takethe form of a video slots machine, a general purpose computer or othertype of client machine used to play games. The client machine mayinclude a display configured to display two or more reels of a reel-typewager game, a memory storing program instructions for facilitating auser to play the reel-type wager game, and a processor for executing theprogram instructions. The program instructions may be arranged todisplay bonus tokens accumulated by the user during play of the game. Abonus token, which may take the form of an icon or graphical device ofany sort, may be accumulated when the reels display a symbol orcombination of symbols that are associated with an award of a bonustoken. The symbol may take any form and could for example be a coinsymbol, the letter “B” or the word “Bonus”. The bonus game is typicallytriggered by the player at any time after accumulating one or more ofthe bonus tokens.

The number of accumulated bonus tokens may be initially set to none whenthe player starts play of the game for the first time. The player mayaccumulate bonus token(s) when the symbol associated with the bonus gameappears on the pay line on any one of the reels. The player mayaccumulate further bonus token(s) when the bonus symbol again appears onthe pay line on any one of the reels. The player may continue toaccumulate bonus tokens in this manner indefinitely, or up to apredefined maximum number of tokens, for example five such tokens.

In one embodiment, the client machine may be connected to a computernetwork, and the client machine may be configured to receive results ofspins of the reels from a gaming server over the computer network. Inother forms of the invention, the client machine can be a completelystand alone machine and have program instructions resident thatdetermine results of spins of the reels. As one further example, theclient machine may take the form of a video gaming terminal. In someforms of the game, the display may be configured to display N reels,where N is an integer greater than zero. In other forms, the results ofa spin or turn of the reel-type game may be displayed in the form of anarray of symbols in M rows and N columns, each column of the N columnsis in the form of a reel. In one specific form of the game, if thesymbol associated with the bonus game appears on any of the M rows inany of the N columns (any of the reels), the user may accumulate a bonustoken. In another form of the game, the user may accumulate a bonustoken only when the symbol associated with the bonus game appears on acentre row of the array of symbols.

In another aspect, a gaming server is disclosed which communicates witha client machine playing a reel-type game over a computer network. Thegaming server generates results of a spin of each of a plurality ofreels in the reel-type game for the client machine and transmits suchresults to the machine as a datagram over the computer network. Thegaming server features a memory storing data representing potentialresults for each of the reels (e.g., an array of symbols such asCherries, Bar, Bar Bar, 7, etc.), with the potential results alsoincluding a result in the form of a symbol which is associated with theaward of a bonus token that can be applied to trigger a bonus game.Should a given spin of the reels for a machine result in this symbolassociated with award of the bonus token, when the machine receives theresult from the gaming server the machine will then display the bonustoken, as described herein.

In one particular embodiment, a player can “bank” any accumulated bonustokens in the event that the player leaves the game. Thus, in thisembodiment the gaming server may be further provided with a memorystoring data (e.g., a flag or bit) indicating whether a result of a spinof the reels for the client machine has included the symbol associatedwith the bonus game. The gaming server stores such data in the memoryafter the client machine has ceased play of the game. Should the playerlater rejoin the game, the server retrieves the data and sends it in adatagram to the client machine. The client machine then displays thenumber of previously-accumulated bonus tokens and the player basicallystarts play again with their accumulated bonus tokens displayed on thedisplay.

In one embodiment of this disclosure, a potential result for each of thereels may be a forfeiture symbol. Should this symbol be the result for agiven spin, previously-accumulated bonus token(s) may be forfeited.

In still another aspect, a method is disclosed of playing a reel-typegame using a client machine having a display. The method includes thesteps of providing on the display a plurality of reels and providing amechanism by which bonus tokens can be accumulated progressively overmultiple turns of the game. All or part of the accumulated bonus tokenscan be consumed by the player at any time to trigger a bonus game. Inone embodiment, the method further includes the step of providing on thedisplay a visible indication of the number of accumulated bonus tokens,with a bonus token being accumulated when a symbol associated with theaward of a bonus token appears on any one of the plurality of reels as aresult of a turn of the play of the reel-type game. As noted above,accumulated bonus tokens may be displayed on the display.

In a yet further aspect, a user can trigger a bonus game at any timeafter having accumulated one or more bonus tokens. The bonus game mayhave an associated cost in bonus tokens and the total of the user'saccumulated bonus tokens may be decremented by the corresponding cost ofthe bonus game. As an example, the user may trigger the bonus game onlywhen the user has accumulated sufficient bonus tokens to cover thecorresponding cost of the bonus game. In another example, the user maytrigger any one of a number of different bonus games, each bonus gamehaving a corresponding, but different, associated cost in bonus tokens.The user may only be able to trigger those bonus games for which theuser has accumulated a sufficient number of tokens. It is anticipatedthat a user can win a prize from a bonus game that is, on average,proportional to the corresponding number of accumulated bonus tokensthat are consumed in triggering the bonus game.

These and other aspects and advantages will become apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art by reading the following detailed description,with reference where appropriate to the accompanying drawings. Further,it should be understood that the foregoing overview is merely exemplaryand is not intended to limit the scope of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of the display of a machine used to play areel-type wager game;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of the pay lines and a partial pay table ofthe reel-type wager game of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a further partial pay table of a reel-typewager game, where the pay table illustrates a symbol that is associatedwith an award of a bonus token.

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are further partial pay tables of a reel-type wagergame, each illustrating one or more bonus games that can be triggeredagainst a corresponding cost in accumulated bonus tokens;

FIG. 7 is an illustration of a display of a reel-type wager game after aspin of the reels, where a single bonus token is displayed due to thepresence on the far right-hand reel of a symbol associated with theaward of a bonus token;

FIG. 8 is another illustration of the display of a reel-type wager gameafter a spin of the reels;

FIG. 9 is an illustration of a menu of bonus games available to a userafter a bonus game icon has been activated to trigger a bonus game;

FIG. 10 is an illustration of an environment in which a reel-type gamecan be played by a video gaming terminal in a casino or likeestablishment;

FIG. 11 is an illustration of an environment in which a reel-type gamecan be played by client machines connected to a gaming server over anetwork such as the Internet; and

FIGS. 12, 13, 14, and 15 are flow charts in accordance with exampleembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reel-type games are disclosed which enable qualifying players to triggera bonus game on demand, thereby providing a player with flexibility andincreasing the excitement of the playing experience. This may beachieved by providing a mechanism for accumulating or collecting assetsover multiple turns or spins of the video slot game until apredetermined threshold is reached, thereby qualifying to trigger thebonus game, or multiple bonus games, when desired against consumption ofall or part of the accumulated assets.

I. Game Description

In reel-type games such as slots, one or more reels are provided, eachof which contain a multitude of symbols distributed around thecircumference of the reel. When a player places a wager (e.g., byplacing a coin in the machine) they may be permitted to spins the reels.Each reel comes to rest, with typically with either one of the symbols,or a space in between the symbols, in alignment with a pay line. Theplayer wins according to whether a particular winning symbol orcombination of symbols is present on a pay line. In a simple three-reelslot machine game, the pay line may be a horizontal line going acrossthe middle of the reels. In other reel-type games, such as an array of5×3 symbols which all “spin” during a turn of play, the “pay line”refers to a particular combination of positions of symbols in the 5×3array which are used to determine if a winning result was achieved.

The game of slots can be played on a video gaming terminal with agraphical user interface, e.g., a dedicated gaming machine such as foundin a casino. In the case of a video gaming terminal, the user interfacedisplays an image of a set of reels. Animation effects are used tosimulate the spinning action. Program instructions, which may beresident in the video gaming terminal, randomly generate a result for asimulated spin of the reels, and the result may be presented on the userinterface.

Slots games may also be played over a computer network, e.g., by aplayer using a personal computer which has established a connection to agaming server. In this later situation, the gaming server generatesresults of play and transmits the results over the computer network tothe personal computer for display.

The popularity of video slot games has increased due to theincorporation of bonus games into such video slot games. A bonus gamemay be distinct from the underlying video slot game and may provide aplayer with entertainment, and also additional opportunities to win gameprizes. The play of bonus games may utilize the reels of the video slotgame itself (“reel-based bonus games”), or, alternatively, may occur ona separate bonus screen (“non-reel-based bonus games”).

One type of reel-based bonus game consists of an award of “free spins”,in which the player may be provided with a quantity of further play ofthe underlying video slot game at no cost to the player, while at thesame time allowing the player to win game prizes in the usual manner.For purposes of determining a payout for a winning result in accordancewith a pay table, the amount wagered per spin during a “free spins” gameis typically fixed, e.g. at $1.00, but again, the “free spins” do notresult in the player's account being debited.

Other types of reel-based bonus games feature the addition of wildmultipliers in the reels, randomly-changing symbols, cascading featureswhere winning combinations of symbols disappear and are replaced byfurther symbols, “expanding wilds” where a wild symbol replicates tocover an entire reel of the video slot game on which it appears, andslide features in which a reel symbol replicates across multiple reels.

Non-reel-based bonus games allow game designers unlimited scope forcreativity. One possible such bonus game is a “pick-a-box” feature inwhich the player is presented with a number of choices and has to selectitems in order to win prizes. A variation of this bonus game is theso-called “Pick until Pop” game in which the player continues to selectitems until a terminating item is selected. A further category ofnon-reel-based bonus games is based on a wheel spin in which a player isawarded a prize that is a function of a position at which the wheelcomes to rest. Another category of non-reel-based bonus games ismulti-level games in which selection of a correct item allows the playerto progress to a higher level of prizes that may also include aprogressive jackpot. The bonus game may also be a combination gamecomprising both reel-based bonus features and non-reel-based bonusfeatures.

The underlying video slot game may require a trigger event to occur inorder to launch the bonus game. One such type of trigger event may bethe occurrence of a predefined combination of trigger symbols on a payline of the underlying video slot game. This combination of triggersymbols which must be present to trigger the launch of the bonus game isusually included in the pay table of the video slot game. For example,the bonus game may be triggered by a game outcome in which three or moretrigger symbols appear on any active pay line of the underlying videoslot game. Alternatively, the required number of trigger symbols neednot all appear on a single pay line, but could be scattered in anypositions in the reel display area of the video slot game. As a furtheralternative, the bonus game may be triggered randomly. As a yet furtheralternative, the bonus game may be triggered by the occurrence of a“wind-up” in which the appearance of a predetermined combination ofsymbols on a subset of the reels of the video slots game initiates arandom outcome on the remaining reels of the game. In all of these priorart scenarios, the bonus game may be triggered based on the results of asingle play or spin of the underlying video slot game.

The games of this disclosure are typically played on a client machinewhich is configured to play a reel-type wager game featuring a bonusgame. The client machine may include a display configured to display twoor more reels of a reel-type wager game, a memory storing programinstructions for facilitating a user to play the reel-type wager game,and a processor for executing the program instructions.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/513,140 discloses an example gamingsystem whereby multiple distributed client machines may engage in gamingactivity via a gaming server over a computer network such as theInternet or a private network. The entire contents of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/513,140 are incorporated by reference herein, asif fully set forth in this description. Furthermore, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/978,876 discloses another example gaming systemwherein play of reel-type games is facilitated. The entire contents ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/978,876 are also incorporated byreference herein, as if fully set forth in this description. In variousembodiments, the methods described herein may be implemented in a gamingsystem of the type disclosed in the U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/513,140 or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/978,876. However,other embodiments may involve other arrangements of client machines andgaming servers.

The program instructions at the client machine may include features fordisplaying assets in the form of bonus tokens as they are accumulatedduring play of the game. A bonus token, which may take the form of anicon or graphical device of any sort, is accumulated when a symbolassociated with an award of a bonus token appears on any one of thereels. The symbol may take any form and could for example be a coinsymbol, the letter “B” or the word “Bonus.” The bonus game can typicallybe triggered on demand when at least one bonus token has beenaccumulated.

This is illustrated by example with reference to a sequence of screenshots shown in FIGS. 1-9. These screen shots show a display on a userinterface (10) of a game playing machine used for playing a reel-typegame. The machine may take the form of a video gaming terminal, a slotmachine, general purpose computer, personal digital assistant, cellulartelephone, or other electronic device. The device includes a memorystoring program instructions (not shown but conventional in suchmachines) and a processing unit (e.g., CPU or microprocessor) whichexecutes the instructions stored in the machine, which again isconventional. The sequence and organization of the program instructionswill be apparent to persons skilled in the art from the description andillustrated examples of operation of the various embodiments of theinvention set forth below.

In particular, FIG. 1 is a representation of a five-reel video slot gamewhich is presented on the display (10) of the game playing machine. Thesymbols (14) are displayed in an array of symbols (14) in M rows and Ncolumns, here M=3 and N=5. Each column is in the form of a reel (12).Each reel (12) displays three symbols after a turn of the game. The gamehas up to twenty pay lines, each comprising a unique sequence of arrayelements (14) going from left to right across the display, each pay linehaving an associated number. The pay lines in a game of this type areknown in the art and the details are not particularly important.

FIGS. 2 to 6 represent, collectively, a pay table of the five-reel videoslot game. FIG. 2 shows the unique sequences of array elements (16),going from left to right, that make up the twenty pay lines. The paytable indicates that the set of symbols (14) of the video slot gamecontains a “passport” symbol associated with an award of a bonus token,represented in FIG. 3 by the coin symbol (22). During regular play ofthe video slot game, whenever a passport symbol (22) appears on thecentre pay line (23) of the reel display area, a bonus token is awarded.According to the rules of the present embodiment the player mayaccumulate a maximum of 5 bonus tokens. In FIG. 7, the passport symbol(22) has appeared on the fifth reel (12A) of the video slot game and abonus token (20A) has been awarded. The bonus token (20A) is representedby a coin symbol that appears outside of the reel display area. Themanner of representing an awarded bonus token (20A) is not particularlyimportant and can vary widely. Note that a “PLAY BONUS” icon (26) isalso displayed. The PLAY BONUS icon (26) can be used to trigger a bonusgame as will be described in more detail below.

As game play progresses and further spins of the reels occur, theawarded bonus token (20A) and the PLAY BONUS icon (26) remain displayed.In other words, the game is structured such that accumulated bonustokens (20A) may be preserved from spin to successive spin. In theory,accumulated bonus tokens (20A) could be preserved as long as the playercontinues to play in one continuous session. It is also possible to“bank” accumulated bonus tokens (20A) should the player quit the gameand resume playing later, as will be described in further detail lateron.

Suppose, in this example, that the player continues to play. Considernow FIG. 8. In this particular spin of the game the passport symbol (22)has once again appeared on the fifth reel (12A) of the video slot gameand a further bonus token (20A) has been awarded. By this stage theplayer has, through play of the game, accumulated 4 bonus tokens (20A)represented by four coin symbols that appear outside of the reel displayarea. The PLAY BONUS icon (26) remains displayed. In this particularversion of the game, the rules of the game may be such that the playerrequires a minimum of one bonus token in order to trigger a bonus game.Since the player has accumulated four bonus tokens (20A), the player mayelect to trigger the bonus game when desired. The eligibility of theplayer to trigger the bonus game may optionally be indicated by amessage (not shown) informing the player of such eligibility.

Although the trigger conditions for bonus play have been met (situationin FIGS. 7 and 8), the game may not automatically transition into abonus game mode, but instead may require the player to enter the bonusgame mode by activating the PLAY BONUS icon (26). Upon activating thePLAY BONUS icon, the player may be presented with a menu of 5 differentbonus games, for example named SMOOTHIE (30), HOT STONE (32), BODY WAX(34), BATH OIL (36) and MASSAGE (38), respectively, as represented inFIG. 9. Each bonus game has an associated “cost” in terms of bonustokens that will be consumed when the particular bonus game istriggered. In particular, the SMOOTHIE bonus game (30) may consume 1bonus token (20A) when triggered by the player. The HOT STONE, BODY WAX,BATH OIL and MASSAGE bonus games may consume 2, 3, 4 and 5 bonus tokens,respectively, when triggered. The cost of, and rules associated with,each one of the bonus games are represented in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6. In thepresent example, the player has accumulated only 4 bonus tokens and willtherefore be unable to trigger the MASSAGE bonus game (38), i.e. thefirst four bonus games in the menu are feasible, while the last bonusgame is non-feasible and is greyed-out. The player may be able toselectively trigger any of the feasible bonus games, on demand.

When the player triggers a selected one of the feasible bonus games, theplayer's bonus token balance (20A) may be reduced by the associated costof that bonus game. For example, if the player triggers the BATH OILbonus game (36), which will consume 4 bonus tokens (20A), the player'sbonus token balance may reduce to zero and, once play of the bonus gameterminates, neither bonus tokens (20A) nor the PLAY BONUS icon (26) maybe visible outside of the reel display area.

Alternatively, if the player elects to trigger the SMOOTHIE bonus game(30), for example, the player's bonus token balance may reduce from 4 to3. In this instance, once play of the bonus game terminates, 3 bonustokens (20A) may still be displayed (one bonus token having beenconsumed to trigger the SMOOTHIE bonus game), in addition to the PLAYBONUS icon (26). The player may immediately re-activate the PLAY BONUSicon (26), in which case the bonus game menu will show that theSMOOTHIE, HOT STONE and BODY WAX bonus games are still feasible, whileboth the BATH OIL and MASSAGE bonus games are non-feasible.

The particular bonus games that are provided to the player may varywidely and are not particularly important. The bonus games may take theform of free spins of the underlying reel-type game, free spins of a newtype reel-type game, a “pick until pop” type game, or any other form. Itis envisaged that the probability of achieving a winning payout in anybonus game, and the magnitude of such a winning payout, is proportionalto the corresponding cost in bonus tokens consumed in triggering thatbonus game.

Whenever the player has consumed all available bonus tokens (20A) totrigger one or more bonus games, the player may be required toaccumulate at least one further bonus symbol in the manner describedabove in order to again qualify for bonus play, and the player'seligibility for such bonus play is presented using the indicators in themanner described above.

In the above embodiment, the essence of the triggering mechanism is thatbonus tokens (20A) are accumulated over time as game play progresses anddifferent bonus games can be triggered when the player has accumulatedsufficient bonus tokens to meet different corresponding thresholds, 1 to5 in this example. It is anticipated that player interest in the videoslot game will be sustained, particularly in circumstances where aplayer has accumulated a substantial number of bonus tokens (20A).

Numerous variations and permutations are possible to this embodimentwithout departing from the scope of the invention. For example, a bonustoken (20A) may be accumulated when a passport symbol (22) occurs in anyposition in the viewable portion of the associated slot reel (12)instead of only on the centre pay line position (line 23 in FIGS. 1, 7and 8).

In another example, the symbol set of the video slot game may alsoinclude a deactivation symbol (not shown), e.g., the word “bonus” with aline through it. When the deactivation symbol appears on any one of thereels, one accumulated bonus token (20A) may be forfeited.Alternatively, all accumulated bonus token may be forfeited when thedeactivation symbol appears. This feature can be used to discourage theplayer from “warehousing” or hording accumulated bonus tokens.

In yet another example, at the commencement of a playing session, theplayer starts with no accumulated bonus tokens (20A). Alternatively, inorder to encourage a player to return to the game, all accumulated bonustokens at the end of a playing session could be carried forward to theplayer's next playing session. In other words, when a player plays thegame and accumulates one or more bonus tokens (20A), the accumulatedbonus tokens are “banked” until the player logs back in and continuesplaying the game. The “banking” of the accumulated bonus tokens (20A)can take the form of storing data in memory local to the client machineindicating the identity of the player and the number of accumulatedbonus tokens at the time of termination of play. Such information mayalso be stored in a gaming server that functions to generate results ofplay and transmits results of play to the player's client machine.

II. Game Playing Environments

As noted previously, the features of this disclosure can be implementedin a variety of game playing formats. Several representative examples ofthese formats will be described in this section.

In one format, a personal computer may be loaded with game playingprogram instructions which includes a reel-type game. The game can beplayed solely for amusement, in which case the computer is typically notinteracting with any external resource which logs wagers, determines andcommunicates results, or adjusts a player's credit account. The gamesoftware may present the reels such as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7-8. When a“passport symbol” (22) is present on a pay line, a bonus token (20A) isaccumulated as described above. When one or more bonus tokens (20A) havebeen accumulated in this manner, the program instructions for the gamemay enable the player to trigger a bonus game in exchange for apredetermined number of bonus tokens.

In another format, the game may be played in a video gaming terminal,such as found in a land or ship-borne casino. One example of thisembodiment is shown in FIG. 10. A casino (40) includes a plurality ofgame playing machines (50) (in this example, four reel video slotmachines) which are connected to a local area network (60). A playerinserts a card having a magnetic strip storing a credit amount into aslot (54) in the machine (50). The card is read and wager amounts arededucted from the value carried by the card. The machine (50) includes adisplay (52) showing four reels (12). The display (52) may also includefeatures which are not shown, such as wager controls, which areconventional and not important. A turn of the game is made by pulling onthe handle (56) or by pressing a spin button, or in some other fashion.

In this example, the results of play may be generated by a gaming server(62) using a random number generator (or other process to generate a setof reel symbols randomly). The gaming server may communicate the resultsof play to the client machine(50) (e.g., a video gaming terminal) overthe network (60) as one or more packets or datagram containing dataindicating which symbols are to be displayed on the reels (12). Thedatagram(s) are processed by program instructions on the client device(50) and presented on the display (52) in known fashion. When the gamingserver's randomly generated results include the passport symbol (22) (inthis example a star symbol), the gaming server includes with thedatagram(s) containing the results of the spin a flag or bit whichindicates that an accumulated bonus token (20A) and the PLAY BONUS icon(26) are to be displayed, since one of the results for reel (12B) is thestar symbol (22). Alternatively, the program instructions in theterminal (50) may include logic or code which searches the datagram fora data indicating that the star symbol was returned as a result, and ifit finds such data a bonus token (20A) is displayed outside of the reeldisplay area.

In this example, suppose the player accumulated two bonus tokens anddecided to play poker at a table in the casino (40), or some other wagergame on a different machine (50). The player's accumulated bonus tokensstored in the gaming server (62) or, alternatively, in the player'sclient machine or locally on the player's magnetic card. The playerejects their card from the slot (54) and then proceeds to play wagergames elsewhere in the casino. At a later time, they may return to aclient machine (50) (need not be the same machine they previously playedat) and insert their card. The card includes a unique code such as acard number which is correlated at the server (62) with the storedresults when the player previously exited the game. The display of thereels reverts to the display of the accumulated bonus tokens (20A) thatwere present when the player previously exited the game on the previousclient machine (50). In this example, the player continues the gamewhere they left off. In one variation, accumulated bonus tokens (20A)are not carried over and when they exit the play on the client machine(50) any accumulated bonus tokens are lost.

Aspects for this invention are also particularly suited for use in thecontext of playing of wager games over a computer network. Referring toFIG. 11, a gaming system suitable for use in wager games and promotionsof this disclosure is indicated generally by reference numeral (100).The gaming system (100) includes a central gaming server (102), and anumber of portals (103 a, 103 b) in the form of portal websites on theWorld Wide Web of the Internet. In this embodiment, each one of theportal websites may be an online casino website hosted on acorresponding casino web server (not shown). For convenience,embodiments of the invention will be described with particular referenceto only two such online casino websites (103 a, 103 b). Other onlinecasino websites may be present, or, alternatively, just one casinowebsite may be present.

Each one of the online casino websites (103 a, 103 b) may be accessibleby a would-be player (not shown) through a player gaming client machine(104) in the form of an Internet-enabled client machine (e.g., generalpurpose computer) having a display monitor (105) and an associatedpointing device (105 a) such as a mouse or, alternatively, a touchpad.In this embodiment, online casino website (103 a) is shown as having oneclient machine (104) logically connected thereto, whereas casino website(103 b) is shown as being logically connected to two client machines(104). It should be appreciated that such online casino websites (103 a,103 b) can be logically connected to any desired number of such clientmachines (104) simultaneously, which number is physically limited onlyby considerations of processing power and Internet access bandwidth.

The gaming server (102), the online casino web servers (not shown)corresponding to the online casino websites (103 a, 103 b), and theclient machines (104) are capable of communicating with each other bymeans of an open communication network, which, in this embodiment, maybe the Internet. The Internet is represented in FIG. 11 as separatelogical communication networks (106, 107, 108, and 110). The particularnetworking topology used and presence of intermediate networks orswitching equipment is not important, and may make use of interveningcommunications network such as the public switched telephone network,cable networks, cellular wireless networks, WiFi, WiMax, etc.

Each online casino operates an account facility (114 a and 114 b,respectively) with a credit account corresponding to each player whoparticipates in a game offered by the online casino. In the illustratedembodiment, therefore, the credit account facility (114 a) has oneplayer credit account associated with it, while credit account facility(114 b) has two associated, but separate, player credit accounts.

Stored program instructions (not shown) may be resident in the clientmachine (104) which enables a participating player to browse a casinowebsite and to interact with the gaming server (102) to play wager gamessuch as slots, poker, Black Jack, Roulette and other games. The programinstructions may include display tools for displaying on the userinterface display (105) gaming symbols (e.g., slot machine reels, cards,Roulette wheels, etc.), display gaming controls by which the player canplace wagers, spin the reels, etc., and display the results of play. Theprogram instructions may also include gaming logic for facilitating theexecution of a turn of a game, and communications facilities forcommunicating player actions using the user interface to the centralgaming server, and receiving datagrams from the gaming server containingresults of play. The data representing results of play is translated tographical symbols which are presented on the user interface display(105). Further details are known in the art and described in the patentliterature, see e.g., U.S. application Ser. No. 10/550,744 filed Sep.23, 2005, and incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.

Each client machine (104) may take the form of a conventional personalcomputer operating under a Windows Vista, XP, ME, 2000 or otheroperating system, which is well known and commercially available fromMicrosoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., or other operating system suchas provided by Apple Computer or a Linux operating system. The clientmachine (104) may also take the form of a portable computing device suchas personal digital assistant or cellular telephone. The client machine(104) may also take the form of an electronic gaming terminal.

The gaming server (102) may operate under control of programinstructions (not shown) that co-operates with the client machineprogram instructions in order to enable a player at the client machine(104) to play a wager game. The gaming server (102) may operate, forexample, under the Windows NT operating system.

The client machine program instructions or application (not shown) andthe corresponding gaming server program instructions will be referredto, for convenience, as a client process and a server process,respectively. The server process may generate one or more random eventsthat determine the outcome of turns of the game, such as determining theoutcome of spins of the slot machine reels in the various slots games ofthe participating players. The client process of any particular clientmachine (104) obtains the result of the random events from the gamingserver (102) along the communication network (108) and displays theoutcome of the game on the display monitor (105) of the client machinein an intelligible manner, by causing the player's set of slots reels tospin and to come to rest at a position corresponding to the outcome. Ifa slot machine reel includes a symbol (22) associated with an award of abonus token, such as the star symbol of FIG. 11 or the “passport” symbol(22) of FIGS. 7 and 8, then an accumulated bonus token (20A) may bedisplayed outside of the reel display area. As noted, the instruction todisplay the bonus token could come from the gaming server (102) in theform of a flag or bit in the datagram with the results of the spin, oralternatively the client machine program instructions may detect thepresence of the bonus symbol in the datagram and activate the indicator(20A).

The gaming server (102) thus may generate results of spins of the reelsfor the client machines (104) and send datagram(s) to the clientmachines indicating such results. In one possible embodiment, togenerate the results of a spin of the reels, the gaming server (102)includes a memory (not shown, but conventional) storing datarepresenting potential results for each of the reels. The gaming servermay use a random process (e.g., random number generator) to select oneof the results from memory. One of the results stored in the gamingserver memory is data representing a result in the form of a symbolwhich is associated with award of a bonus token, e.g., the coin symbol(22) shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The memory may also store data representinga potential result in the form of a deactivation symbol (e.g., theletter B or the word “Bonus” with a line through it). Should thedeactivation symbol be returned, at least some previously accumulatedbonus symbols may be lost.

The gaming server can also “bank” the progress made towards a bonus gamein the event that a player ceases playing the reel-type game, e.g., logsout of the casino or elects to play other games such as poker. Thegaming server is further provided with a memory storing data (e.g., aflag or bit) indicating whether a result of a spin of the reels for theclient machines has included the symbol associated with accumulation ofa bonus token. The gaming server may store such data in the memory afterthe client machine has ceased play of the game. Should the player returnto playing the reel-type game, the gaming server (102) consults thememory and returns a datagram to the player's client machine whichincludes such data. The player's client machine display then shows theaccumulated or “banked” bonus tokens (20A) and starts play where theypreviously left off.

In order to play the games from any particular client machine (104), theclient process (not shown) may first be downloaded to that clientmachine from the gaming server (102) or, alternatively, from a separateweb server (not shown), and then installed on the client machine.

In use, a player wishing to participate in a wager game uses a clientmachine (104) to access an online casino website (103 a, 103 b) of hischoice. When the player navigates using a Web browser to a home page ofa casino, a promotional message may be displayed (described below). Theplayer may be presented with an icon on the user interface on his clientmachine (104), which the player can activate in order to download theclient process and register with the casino operator. Following thesetasks, the player may request to play games provided on the casinowebsite by clicking on an appropriate icon or taking other similaraction.

The online casino websites (103 a, 103 b) may be provisioned as avirtual slots room where slots is the only game available to would-beplayers, rather than one where a variety of different games are offeredto a player. It will be noted again that a system implementing themethods of this invention need not include two (or more) separate casinowebsites (103 a, 103 b), and that only one website (103) may be linkedto the gaming server (102).

III. Example Gaming Methods

FIGS. 12-15 are flow charts of methods in accordance with exampleembodiments of this invention. It should be understood that each of themethods illustrated by these figures may include more or fewer steps.Furthermore, the steps of any two or more of these flow charts can becombined with one another, in whole or in part, without departing fromthe scope of the invention.

FIG. 12 illustrates a method for a gaming server, that supports play ofa reel-type game with a client machine, to also engage in play of abonus game. At step (202), the gaming server may transmit a first resultof a first spin of the reel-type game to the client machine. Thereel-type game may comprise any number of reels and each reel may bemarked with any number of symbols.

Preferably, the client machine accesses a user account on the gamingserver, and the user account contains a representation of a number ofbonus credits that may be used by the user account when playing bonusgames. The number of bonus credits may be positive, indicating asurplus, or negative, indicating a deficit that the user account may“pay back” at some point in the future. Of course, there also may bezero bonus credits associated with the user account.

The gaming server may maintain these bonus credits between spins of thereel-type game, or between gaming sessions of the reel-type game. Gamingsessions of the reel-type game may be defined as, for example, asequence of events involving the client machine logging on to the useraccount, a number of turns of the reel-type game being played by theclient machine, and the client machine logging off of the user account.

Furthermore, the gaming server and the client machine may either beintegrated with one another or communicatively coupled by a network. Forinstance, the gaming server and client machines may be components of thesame physical machine, in communication with one another by a localnetwork, or in communication with one another by a wide area networksuch as the Internet.

Regardless, at step (204), the gaming server may receive, from theclient machine, a first request to play a first bonus game. The firstbonus game may be one of various game types, such as, but not limitedto, free spins of the reel-type game, free spins of a differentreel-type game, or a pick-until-pop type game. Preferably, playing thefirst bonus game is associated with a first amount of bonus credits.

At step (206), the gaming server may debit the bonus credits associatedwith the user account by the first amount. In this way, the clientmachine “pays” for the privilege of playing the first bonus game. Then,at step (208), the gaming server may engage the client machine in playof the first bonus game.

The outcome of the first bonus game may vary. For instance, the clientmachine may win something of value, such as money, virtual money, morebonus tokens, or some other form of prize. Of course, some outcomes ofthe first bonus game may be negative outcomes, in the sense that theclient machine may lose something of value.

As discussed above, between spins of the reel type game, the gamingserver preferably stores and maintains the bonus tokens accumulated bythe client machine. Thus, as illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14, furtherspins of the reel-type game may decrease or increase the number of thesestored bonus tokens.

For instance, FIG. 13 illustrates the operation of a bonus deactivationfeature. After engaging the client machine in play of the first bonusgame, the client machine may engage in subsequent spins of the reel-typegame. At step (302), the gaming server may transmit a second result of asecond spin of the reel-type game to the client machine. This secondresult may include a bonus deactivation indication, and the bonusdeactivation indication may be associated with a second amount of bonuscredits. At step (304), the gaming server may debit the bonus creditsassociated with the user account by the second amount. This secondamount may be a predetermined amount, or may be all of the bonus creditsassociated with the user account.

One useful aspect of this bonus deactivation feature is to discouragethe client machine from “warehousing” or otherwise hording bonuscredits. Additionally or alternatively, the gaming server may discouragesuch behaviour by allowing a user account to accumulate no more than athreshold number of bonus credits. Accordingly, once this threshold isreached, the gaming server may prohibit the further accumulation ofbonus credits in the user account.

FIG. 14 illustrates the client machine accumulating additional bonuscredits, and using its accumulated bonus credits to play a second bonusgame. At step (402), after engaging the client machine in play of thefirst bonus game, the gaming server may transmit a second result of asecond spin of the reel-type game to the client machine. At step (404),the gaming server may receive, from the client machine, a second requestto play the second bonus game. Preferably playing the second bonus gameis associated with a second amount of bonus credits. Then, at step(406), the gaming server may debit the bonus credits associated with theuser account by the second amount, and at step (408) may engage theclient machine in play of the second bonus game.

The second amount of bonus credits may be greater than the first amountof bonus credits, therefore making the second bonus game more“expensive” to play than the first bonus game. Thus, among other aspectsof the method illustrated in FIG. 14, the client machine may be able toaccumulate bonus credits in the user account. At any given point, theclient machine may have accumulated sufficient bonus credits to play oneor more bonus games, but not all bonus games. By continuing toaccumulate bonus credits, the client machine may eventually be able toplay any available bonus game.

Other aspects and embodiments in accordance with FIGS. 12-14 may bepossible as well. For instance, in addition to transmitting theindication of the result of the first spin to the client machine, thegaming server may also transmit a list of at least one bonus gameavailable to the user account, wherein the first bonus game is in thelist. The decision to transmit the list may be based on the bonuscredits associated with the user account. Upon receiving the list, theclient device may choose a bonus game from the list.

Additionally, the results any of the spins of the reel-type game may betransmitted as part of a screen display, and the screen display mayinclude a reel display area. The result may also include a bonus token.This bonus token may appear in various places on the screen display,including but not limited to, inside the reel display area, outside thereel display area, or on a centre play line position in the reel displayarea.

FIG. 15 illustrates another method for a gaming server to support abonus game. Similar to the discussion in reference to FIG. 12, a clientmachine may access a user account on the gaming server, and the useraccount may contain a representation of a number of bonus credits thatmay be used by the user account when playing bonus games. The gamingserver may maintain these bonus credits between spins of the reel-typegame, or between gaming sessions of the reel-type game. Furthermore, thegaming server and the client machine may either be integrated with oneanother or communicatively coupled by a network.

At step (502), the gaming server may determine an outcome of a firstspin of the reel-type game. The outcome may include the user accountbeing awarded at least one bonus credit. Accordingly, at step (504), thegaming server may credit the user account by the at least one bonuscredit. Additionally, at step (506), the gaming server may transmit, tothe client machine, a first result of the first spin of the reel-typegame, and a first indication of the award of the at least one bonuscredit.

At step (508), the gaming server may determine whether it receives, fromthe client machine, a first request to play a first bonus game. At step(510), if the gaming server receives the first request to play a firstbonus game, then the gaming server may debit the bonus credits in theuser account by a cost to play the first bonus game and engage theclient machine in play of the first bonus game. At step (512) however,if the gaming server instead receives a second request to not play anybonus game, then the gaming server may maintain the bonus credits in theuser account. In other words, the gaming server may leave the useraccount's balance unchanged.

IV. Additional Description

The following clauses are offered as further description of thedisclosed inventions.

1. A method for a gaming server to facilitate play of bonus games,wherein the gaming server is communicatively coupled to a client machineplaying a reel-type game, wherein the client machine uses a user accountto play the reel-type game, wherein the gaming server generates resultsof a spin of each of a plurality of reels in the reel-type game for theclient machine and transmits the results to the client machine, andwherein the gaming server maintains bonus credits associated with theuser account, the method comprising:

the gaming server transmitting a first result of a first spin of thereel-type game to the client machine;

the gaming server receiving, from the client machine, a first request toplay a first bonus game, wherein playing the first bonus game isassociated with a first amount of bonus credits;

in response to receiving the first request, the gaming server debitingthe bonus credits associated with the user account by the first amount;and

the gaming server engaging the client machine in play of the first bonusgame.

2. The method of clause 1, further comprising:

based on the bonus credits associated with the user account, the gamingserver also transmitting, to the client machine, a list of at least onebonus game available to the user account, wherein the first bonus gameis in the list.

3. The method of any previous clause, wherein the gaming servermaintains the bonus credits between spins of the reel-type game.

4. The method of any previous clause, wherein a gaming session of thereel type game, facilitated by the gaming server, consists of the clientmachine logging on to the user account, a number of turns of thereel-type game being played by the client machine, and the clientmachine logging off of the user account, and wherein the gaming servermaintains the bonus credits between gaming sessions.

5. The method of any previous clause, wherein the result of the firstspin of the reel-type game is transmitted as part of a screen display,wherein the screen display includes a reel display area, and theindication of the result also includes a bonus token.

6. The method of clause 5, wherein the bonus token is displayed in anyposition in the reel display area.

7. The method of clause 5, wherein the bonus token is displayed outsideof the reel display area.

8. The method of clause 5, wherein the reel display area includes acentre pay line position, and wherein the bonus token is displayed inthe centre pay line position.

9. The method of any previous clause further comprising:

after engaging the client machine in play of the first bonus game, thegaming server transmitting a second result of a second spin of thereel-type game to the client machine, wherein the second result includesa bonus deactivation indication, wherein the bonus deactivationindication is associated with a second amount of bonus credits; and

the gaming server debiting the bonus credits associated with the useraccount by the second amount.

10. The method of clause 9, wherein the second amount is all bonuscredits associated with the user account.

11. The method of any previous clause, wherein the gaming server allowsno more than a threshold number of bonus credits to be associated withthe user account.

12. The method of any previous clause, further comprising:

after engaging the client machine in play of the first bonus game, thegaming server transmitting a second result of a second spin of thereel-type game to the client machine;

the gaming server receiving, from the client machine, a second requestto play a second bonus game, wherein playing the second bonus game isassociated with a second amount of bonus credits;

in response to receiving the second request to play the second bonusgame, the gaming server debiting the user account by the second amount;and

the gaming server engaging the client machine in play of the secondbonus game.

13. The method of clause 12, wherein the second amount is greater thanthe first amount.

14. The method of any previous clause, wherein the bonus game is chosenfrom the group consisting of free spins of the reel-type game, freespins of a different reel-type game, and a pick-until-pop type game.

15. A method for a gaming server to facilitate play of bonus games,wherein the gaming server is communicatively coupled to a client machineplaying a reel-type game, wherein the client machine uses a user accountto play the reel-type game, wherein the gaming server generates resultsof spins of each of a plurality of reels in the reel-type game for theclient machine, and transmits results of the spins to the clientmachine, and wherein the gaming server maintains bonus creditsassociated with the user account, the method comprising:

the gaming server determining an outcome of a first spin of thereel-type game, wherein the outcome includes the user account beingawarded at least one bonus credit;

the gaming server crediting the user account by the at least one bonuscredit;

the gaming server transmitting, to the client machine, a first result ofthe first spin of the reel-type game, and a first indication of theaward of the at least one bonus credit;

if the gaming server receives, from the client machine, a first requestto play a first bonus game, then the gaming server debiting the bonuscredits in the user account by a first amount and engaging the clientmachine in play of the first bonus game, wherein the first amount is thecost to play the first bonus game; and

if the gaming server receives, from the client machine, a second requestnot to play any bonus game, then the gaming server maintaining the bonuscredits in the user account.

16. The method of clause 15, further comprising:

after the first spin of the reel-type game, the gaming server alsotransmitting, to the client machine, a list of at least one bonus gameavailable to play, wherein the first bonus game is in the list.

17. The method of any of clauses 15 and 16, wherein the gaming servermaintains the bonus credits between spins of the reel-type game.

18. The method of any of clauses 15, 16, and 17, wherein a gamingsession of the reel type game consists of the client machine logging onto the user account, a number of turns of the reel-type game beingplayed by the client machine, and the client machine logging off of theuser account, and wherein the gaming server maintain the bonus creditsbetween gaming sessions.

19. The method of any of clauses 15, 16, 17, and 18, wherein the firstresult of the first spin of the reel-type game is transmitted as part ofa screen display, wherein the screen display includes a reel displayarea, and the indication includes a bonus token.

20. The method of any of clauses 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19, furthercomprising:

the gaming server transmitting a second result of a second spin of thereel-type game to the client machine, wherein the second result includesa bonus deactivation indication, wherein the bonus deactivationindication is associated with a second amount of bonus credits; and

the gaming server debiting the bonus credits associated with the useraccount by the second amount.

21. The method of any of clauses 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, furthercomprising:

after engaging the client machine in play of the first bonus game, thegaming server transmitting a second result of a second spin of thereel-type game to the client machine;

the gaming server receiving, from the client machine, a second requestto play a second bonus game, wherein playing the second bonus game isassociated with a second amount of bonus credits;

in response to receiving the second request, the gaming server debitingthe user account by the second amount; and

the gaming server engaging the client machine in play of the secondbonus game.

22. The method of clause 21, wherein the second amount is greater thanthe first amount.

23. A gaming server, communicatively coupled to at least one clientmachine, wherein the gaming server allows the client machine to play areel-type game, wherein the gaming server generates results of spins ofeach of a plurality of reels in the reel-type game for the clientmachine and transmits results of the spins to the client machine, thegaming server comprising:

a processor capable of executing program instructions; and

a memory containing data and the program instructions,

wherein the data includes a representation of a user account, whereinthe client machine plays the reel-type game via the gaming server withthe user account, wherein the representation of the user accountcontains a quantity of bonus credits,

wherein the program instructions are executable by the processor to (i)transmit a first result of a first spin of the reel-type game to theclient machine, (ii) receive, from the client machine, a first requestto play a first bonus game, wherein playing the first bonus game isassociated with a first amount of bonus credits, (iii) in response toreceiving the first request, debit the user account by the first amount,and (iv) engage the client machine in play of the first bonus game.

24. The gaming server of clause 23, wherein the memory further containsprogram instructions executable by the processor to, based on the bonuscredits associated with the user account, also transmit, to the clientmachine, a list of at least one bonus game available to the useraccount, wherein the first bonus game is in the list.

25. The gaming server of any of clauses 23 and 24, wherein the memoryfurther contains program instructions executable by the processor tomaintain the bonus credits between spins of the reel-type game.

26. The gaming server of any of clauses 23, 24, and 25, wherein a gamingsession of the reel type game, facilitated by the gaming server,consists of the client machine logging on to the user account, a numberof turns of the reel-type game being played by the client machine, andthe client machine logging off of the user account, and wherein thememory further contains program instructions executable by the processorto maintain the bonus credits between gaming sessions.

27. The gaming server of any of clauses 23, 24, 25, and 26, wherein thememory further contains program instructions executable by the processorto (i) after engaging the client machine in play of the first bonusgame, transmit a second result of a second spin of the reel-type game tothe client machine, wherein the second result includes a bonusdeactivation indication, wherein the bonus deactivation indication isassociated with a second amount of bonus credits, and (ii) debit thebonus credits associated with the user account by the second amount.

28. The gaming server of any of clauses 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27, whereinthe memory further contains program instructions executable by theprocessor to (i) after engaging the client machine in play of the firstbonus game, the gaming server transmitting a second result of a secondspin of the reel-type game to the client machine, (ii) the gaming serverreceiving, from the client machine, a second request to play a secondbonus game, wherein playing the second bonus game is associated with asecond amount of bonus credits, (iii) in response to receiving thesecond request, the gaming server debiting the user account by thesecond amount, and (iv) the gaming server engaging the client machine inplay of the second bonus game.

29. The gaming server of any of clauses 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28,wherein the second amount is greater than the first amount.

V. Conclusion

As used herein, the term “reel” is intended to be interpreted to includeany device displaying one or more symbols in which the one or moresymbols displayed are randomly determined. Furthermore, for theembodiments described herein, the terms “random” or “randomly” shallrefer to any realizable process of randomly generating events. Suchprocesses shall include, but not be limited to, generating eventswithout a deterministic pattern of occurrences. Additionally, theseprocesses may be pseudo-random, thus resulting in a deterministicpattern of occurrences that exhibit some form of statistical randomness.

Variation from the disclosed embodiments may of course be made withoutdeparture from the scope of the invention. All questions concerningscope are to be answered by reference to the appended claims.

1. A method for a gaming server to facilitate play of bonus games,wherein the gaming server is communicatively coupled to a client machineplaying a reel-type game, wherein the client machine uses a user accountto play the reel-type game, wherein the gaming server generates resultsof a spin of each of a plurality of reels in the reel-type game for theclient machine and transmits the results to the client machine, andwherein the gaming server maintains bonus credits associated with theuser account, the method comprising: the gaming server transmitting afirst result of a first spin of the reel-type game to the clientmachine; the gaming server receiving, from the client machine, a firstrequest to play a first bonus game, wherein playing the first bonus gameis associated with a first amount of bonus credits; in response toreceiving the first request, the gaming server debiting the bonuscredits associated with the user account by the first amount; and thegaming server engaging the client machine in play of the first bonusgame.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: based on the bonuscredits associated with the user account, the gaming server alsotransmitting, to the client machine, a list of at least one bonus gameavailable to the user account, wherein the first bonus game is in thelist.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the gaming server maintains thebonus credits between spins of the reel-type game.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein a gaming session of the reel type game, facilitated bythe gaming server, consists of the client machine logging on to the useraccount, a number of turns of the reel-type game being played by theclient machine, and the client machine logging off of the user account,and wherein the gaming server maintains the bonus credits between gamingsessions.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first result of thefirst spin of the reel-type game is transmitted as part of a screendisplay, wherein the screen display includes a reel display area, andthe indication of the result also includes a bonus token.
 6. The methodof claim 5, wherein the bonus token is displayed in any position in thereel display area.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the bonus token isdisplayed outside of the reel display area.
 8. The method of claim 5,wherein the reel display area includes a centre pay line position, andwherein the bonus token is displayed in the centre pay line position. 9.The method of claim 1 further comprising: after engaging the clientmachine in play of the first bonus game, the gaming server transmittinga second result of a second spin of the reel-type game to the clientmachine, wherein the second result includes a bonus deactivationindication, wherein the bonus deactivation indication is associated witha second amount of bonus credits; and the gaming server debiting thebonus credits associated with the user account by the second amount. 10.The method of claim 9, wherein the second amount is all bonus creditsassociated with the user account.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein thegaming server allows no more than a threshold number of bonus credits tobe associated with the user account.
 12. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: after engaging the client machine in play of the first bonusgame, the gaming server transmitting a second result of a second spin ofthe reel-type game to the client machine; the gaming server receiving,from the client machine, a second request to play a second bonus game,wherein playing the second bonus game is associated with a second amountof bonus credits; in response to receiving the second request to playthe second bonus game, the gaming server debiting the user account bythe second amount; and the gaming server engaging the client machine inplay of the second bonus game.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein thesecond amount is greater than the first amount.
 14. The method of claim1, wherein the bonus game is chosen from the group consisting of freespins of the reel-type game, free spins of a different reel-type game,and a pick-until-pop type game.
 15. A method for a gaming server tofacilitate play of bonus games, wherein the gaming server iscommunicatively coupled to a client machine playing a reel-type game,wherein the client machine uses a user account to play the reel-typegame, wherein the gaming server generates results of spins of each of aplurality of reels in the reel-type game for the client machine, andtransmits results of the spins to the client machine, and wherein thegaming server maintains bonus credits associated with the user account,the method comprising: the gaming server determining an outcome of afirst spin of the reel-type game, wherein the outcome includes the useraccount being awarded at least one bonus credit; the gaming servercrediting the user account by the at least one bonus credit; the gamingserver transmitting, to the client machine, a first result of the firstspin of the reel-type game, and a first indication of the award of theat least one bonus credit; if the gaming server receives, from theclient machine, a first request to play a first bonus game, then thegaming server debiting the bonus credits in the user account by a firstamount and engaging the client machine in play of the first bonus game,wherein the first amount is the cost to play the first bonus game; andif the gaming server receives, from the client machine, a second requestto not play any bonus game, then the gaming server maintaining the bonuscredits in the user account.
 16. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising: after the first spin of the reel-type game, the gamingserver also transmitting, to the client machine, a list of at least onebonus game available to play, wherein the first bonus game is in thelist.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the gaming server maintainsthe bonus credits between spins of the reel-type game.
 18. The method ofclaim 15, wherein a gaming session of the reel type game consists of theclient machine logging on to the user account, a number of turns of thereel-type game being played by the client machine, and the clientmachine logging off of the user account, and wherein the gaming servermaintain the bonus credits between gaming sessions.
 19. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the first result of the first spin of the reel-typegame is transmitted as part of a screen display, wherein the screendisplay includes a reel display area, and the first result includes abonus token.
 20. The method of claim 15 further comprising: the gamingserver transmitting a second result of a second spin of the reel-typegame to the client machine, wherein the second result includes a bonusdeactivation indication, wherein the bonus deactivation indication isassociated with a second amount of bonus credits; and the gaming serverdebiting the bonus credits associated with the user account by thesecond amount.
 21. The method of claim 15, further comprising: afterengaging the client machine in play of the first bonus game, the gamingserver transmitting a second result of a second spin of the reel-typegame to the client machine; the gaming server receiving, from the clientmachine, a second request to play a second bonus game, wherein playingthe second bonus game is associated with a second amount of bonuscredits; in response to receiving the second request, the gaming serverdebiting the user account by the second amount; and the gaming serverengaging the client machine in play of the second bonus game.
 22. Themethod of claim 21, wherein the second amount is greater than the firstamount.
 23. A gaming server, communicatively coupled to at least oneclient machine, wherein the gaming server allows the client machine toplay a reel-type game, wherein the gaming server generates results ofspins of each of a plurality of reels in the reel-type game for theclient machine and transmits results of the spins to the client machine,the gaming server comprising: a processor capable of executing programinstructions; and a memory containing data and the program instructions,wherein the data includes a representation of a user account, whereinthe client machine plays the reel-type game via the gaming server withthe user account, wherein the representation of the user accountcontains a quantity of bonus credits, wherein the program instructionsare executable by the processor to (i) transmit a first result of afirst spin of the reel-type game to the client machine, (ii) receive,from the client machine, a first request to play a first bonus game,wherein playing the first bonus game is associated with a first amountof bonus credits, (iii) in response to receiving the first request,debit the user account by the first amount, and (iv) engage the clientmachine in play of the first bonus game.
 24. The gaming server of claim23, wherein the memory further contains program instructions executableby the processor to, based on the bonus credits associated with the useraccount, also transmit, to the client machine, a list of at least onebonus game available to the user account, wherein the first bonus gameis in the list.
 25. The gaming server of claim 23, wherein the memoryfurther contains program instructions executable by the processor tomaintain the bonus credits between spins of the reel-type game.
 26. Thegaming server of claim 23, wherein a gaming session of the reel typegame, facilitated by the gaming server, consists of the client machinelogging on to the user account, a number of turns of the reel-type gamebeing played by the client machine, and the client machine logging offof the user account, and wherein the memory further contains programinstructions executable by the processor to maintain the bonus creditsbetween gaming sessions.
 27. The gaming server of claim 23, wherein thememory further contains program instructions executable by the processorto (i) after engaging the client machine in play of the first bonusgame, transmit a second result of a second spin of the reel-type game tothe client machine, wherein the second result includes a bonusdeactivation indication, wherein the bonus deactivation indication isassociated with a second amount of bonus credits, and (ii) debit thebonus credits associated with the user account by the second amount. 28.The gaming server of claim 23, wherein the memory further containsprogram instructions executable by the processor to (i) after engagingthe client machine in play of the first bonus game, the gaming servertransmitting a second result of a second spin of the reel-type game tothe client machine, (ii) the gaming server receiving, from the clientmachine, a second request to play a second bonus game, wherein playingthe second bonus game is associated with a second amount of bonuscredits, (iii) in response to receiving the second request, the gamingserver debiting the user account by the second amount, and (iv) thegaming server engaging the client machine in play of the second bonusgame.
 29. The gaming server of claim 23, wherein the second amount isgreater than the first amount.